No. It is an inescapable thing. If we mean by “liturgy” a form of public worship, then every church has one. If, however, we mean a precisely planned form, following patterns handed down over centuries, then some churches are non-liturgical. It’s important to know what definition we’re talking about, or else the dangers of what might be called “high liturgy” show up in “low liturgy.”
What dangers? The danger of ritualism, of going through the motions thoughtlessly, by rote. While I tend to be a fan of higher liturgy, I have to confess this problem can rear its ugly head. There’s a reason Jesus warned in the Sermon on the Mount against mindless repetitive prayers (Matt. 6: 7).
Low church liturgies, while putting a premium on spontaneity, often find that “spontaneity” needs to be manufactured through, well, planned liturgy. The praise team may not be chanting the Agnus Dei, but they are probably swaying sincerely while setting their gaze on the middle distance. That may be low-church but it is surely liturgy.
The value of high liturgy, despite its dangers, is its power to bridge the gap between our hearts and our minds. If we hurriedly mumble our way through the Apostles’ Creed we have fallen prey to ritualism. But we are not left with only two options, tossing the ancient creed or rote ritualism.
What if we actually considered what we are saying/singing? What if we considered the glorious truth that this creed is what defines us as a people, that for millenia all those bought by the blood of Christ have confessed this? What if we considered, because of this, that the faith didn’t begin with us, but that we have entered a stream that goes all the way back to Seth calling on the name of the Lord (Gen. 4: 26)?
Liturgy can be soul killing. Or it can be soul grounding. Inspiring. Emotive spontaneity may do well to engage our emotions. Sound doctrine may do well to engage our minds. High liturgy may do well to do both at the same time.
Remember also that God gave us liturgies. While we don’t repeat them because Christ died once for all, God gave detailed instructions for the worship of His people through the sacrifices. And remember what happened to Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu when their “spontaneity” led them to bring strange fire into the tabernacle (Lev. 10:1).
God commanded that His priests would pronounce over His people the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:22-27). Jesus taught His disciples to pray the Lord’s Prayer. High liturgy is all over the Bible. And yes, the dangers showed up. The prophet Jeremiah warned God’s people against it (7:4). What Jeremiah didn’t do was suggest the temple was itself a bad thing.
It is vitally important that we remember to focus on the temptations we face more than the temptations others face. Guarding the wrong flank is a strategy that will never succeed. Sincerity, spontaneity are wonderful things. And so are the gifts our fathers in the faith have handed down to us.
This is the forty-third installment of an ongoing series of pieces here on the nature and calling of the church. Stay tuned for more. Remember also that we at Sovereign Grace Fellowship meet this Sunday May 11 at 10:30 AM at our new location, our beautiful farm at 11281 Garman Road, Spencerville, IN. Please come join us. Also note that tonight we continue our Bible study on issues dividing the church, tonight considering creation, evolution and the age of the earth.